No. 3 seed Kentucky will face No. 10 seed South Carolina on Friday at 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST. The winner advances to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, while the loser heads home.
Carolina took a 10-9 lead to the ninth inning Thursday night, but a two-run top of the ninth for LSU propelled the Tigers to an 11-10 win and a spot in the semifinals. The loss marked Carolina’s first after leading through eight innings this season, as they had won the previous 23.
Kentucky and South Carolina met back in late April, where the Gamecocks handed the Cats just their second SEC series loss of the season. Kentucky held a three-run lead in the ninth inning of the series opener, but two solo home runs and a walkoff two-run home run gave Carolina a come from behind win that would eventually cost Kentucky an outright SEC Regular Season Championship.
With a win on Friday, Kentucky would advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for just the fifth time in program history (2022, 2014, 2012, 1996) and the third time in the modern 12-team format, which began in 2013.
The 2024 Tournament will be the last with the 12-team format, as the field will expand to all 16 teams in 2025 with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma.
No. 10 South Carolina (35-22, 13-17)
Friday’s game will mark South Carolina’s fourth of the Tournament, as it took down No. 7 seed Alabama 10-5 on Tuesday and No. 2 seed Arkansas 6-5 on Wednesday before falling to No. 11 seed LSU 11-10 on Thursday.
Although they ended the regular season by losing six consecutive games, the ‘Cocks have garnered big wins over Alabama (No. 20 RPI) and Tennessee (No. 5 RPI) in the SEC Tournament. South Carolina is currently a projected No. 2 seed in the Raleigh (NC State) Regional in Baseball America’s latest Field of 64 Projections.
South Carolina Second Team All-SEC catcher Cole Messina is currently one of the hottest hitters in all of college baseball. Messina has homered in all three of Carolina’s SEC Tournament games, including two against Arkansas on Wednesday and a grand slam in their loss to LSU on Thursday.
Messina was 3-12 with two doubles and a home run in Carolina’s series against Kentucky earlier this season. In just three tournament games, Messina set the record for most RBI recorded in a single SEC Tournament (14).
Just as Messina has, Ethan Petry has shined in the SEC Tournament as well. The Gamecock first baseman has totaled a hit in all three of their games, including three in their opener against Alabama. Petry is 5-13 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Hoover. He hit for a .329 BA with 20 home runs, four doubles, and 51 RBI in the regular season.
Carolina’s pitching had been efficient in the SEC Tournament, as they allowed eight earned runs in their first 18 innings prior to Thursday’s game against LSU. The ‘Cocks entered the week with a 4.99 team ERA, which ranked sixth in the conference.
South Carolina has won the SEC Tournament just once in program history (2004).
No. 3 Kentucky (40-13, 22-8)
No. 3 seed Kentucky bounced back in a big way from Wednesday’s 11-0 loss to LSU, scoring nine runs on 10 hits in Thursday’s 9-6 victory over No. 2 seed Arkansas.
Ryan Waldschmidt shined in the win, belting two home runs for three RBI. Thursday’s game marked the 19th two-plus hit game of the season for the left fielder, who was named an All-SEC selection.
“The past few games, I’ve just felt a little bit late,” Waldschmidt said postgame. “Whenever I feel like I’m not on, that usually is the problem. Today, I just made an effort just to be earlier and on time and I think I did that. I think I fouled a few balls off down the line. When I do that, I feel like I’m good. I’m on it. When I got a pitch in the zone, I was on time. That was the biggest thing for me, just being on time today.”
Waldschmidt was 6-13 with a double, a home run, and two RBI in Kentucky’s series against South Carolina in late April. He became just the third Kentucky player ever to hit two home runs in an SEC Tournament game on Thursday.
Waldschmidt is just one of many key contributors in the Wildcat lineup, as Nick Lopez (First Team All-SEC selection), Ryan Nicholson (18 home runs), and Émilien Pitre (.311 BA) rank among the conferences best hitters as well. 16 of Nicholson’s 18 home runs have come against SEC competition.
Right-hander Mason Moore will likely be making his 15th start of the season for Kentucky on Friday. Just as Trey Pooser was on Thursday, Moore will likely be on a pitch count.
“Matter of fact, we made that decision in the middle of the game with Trey [Pooser],” Nick Mingione said about managing Pooser’s arm following Thursday’s win. “He was at 76 pitches and if we chose to run him back out there, on average you’re going to throw anywhere between 16 and 25 pitches in an inning. We made the decision that if we do that, we’re gonna run him over 100 pitches. We were in a good spot but ultimately, we do have to manage that in the right way.”
In 14 starts, Moore is 8-2 with 5.01 ERA in 73 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed 10 hits and nine earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings pitched against South Carolina back on April 28.
The Kentucky bullpen however continues to struggle, as its allowed 15 earned runs in 11 innings of SEC Tournament work (12.27 ERA). Its struggles and lack of a real go-to arm remains a problem that it seems won’t be resolved before the NCAA Tournament begins next week.
Kentucky is just five games away from tying the program record for wins in a season (45).
Probable Starters
ALL-TIME SERIES: South Carolina leads 60-46
Friday, May 23, 2024 (Hoover Metropolitan Stadium – 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST) SEC Network
UK: RHP Mason Moore (8-2, 5.01 ERA, 73 2/3 IP) vs SC: TBD
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